Brouillette: U.S. ‘Gains’ to Reduce Pollution ‘Offset’ by China in ‘One Month’

Department of Energy (DOE) Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette told Breitbart News Daily that Chinese pollution has “offset” American “gains” to reduce pollution in “one month.”

Brouillette spoke with Breitbart News Daily host Alex Marlow regarding America’s leadership to reduce pollution, President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate treaty, and new initiatives the DOE is pursuing to reduce carbon emissions.

His interview with Breitbart News Daily follows as Energy Secretary Rick Perry plans to step down, and Trump nominated Brouillette to be the next secretary.

“At the same time, I am pleased to nominate Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette to be the new Secretary of Energy. Dan’s experience in the sector is unparalleled,” Trump wrote in a tweet last week. “A total professional, I have no doubt that Dan will do a great job!”

Trump announced late Wednesday night that he will confirm one of his key 2016 presidential campaign promises by withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement.

Brouillette said that the country, under Trump, has managed to reduce emissions beyond other Paris treaty signatories while growing the American economy.

“There is not a single signatory to that accord that has come close to the United States’ record on the environment,” Brouillette said. “Not a single signatory.”

Further, he said that while America has continued to reduce carbon emissions, China has continued to pollute the world.

The energy deputy secretary said, “All of the gains that we have made are offset exponentially by the Chinese. It shows the fallacy of an agreement of the Paris Accords. We have reduced our energy-related emissions by 14 percent. That has been offset exponentially by the Chinese in probably a month or maybe a month and a half. They are making near-zero progress regarding these types of issues.”

The energy secretary nominee then noted that America’s growing Marcellus Shale natural gas developments have “fundamentally transformed the entire Appalachian region. If you were to hold that out as a country, it would be one of the largest energy-producing countries in the world. Appalachia alone.”

Brouillette said that Trump “is committed to developing infrastructure that would move” American energy to the market. However, many states, such as New York, have refused natural gas pipelines to areas such as Boston, Massachusetts. New York’s blocking of pipelines has led to a Russian oil tanker selling natural gas to Boston instead of Pennsylvania shale natural gas.

“We had a Russian tanker parked in Boston harbor, selling Russian gas to American consumers because we couldn’t get the gas to consumers through to New York to Boston,” he said. ” That’s an outrageous development.”

Brouillette also touted nuclear reactors, given that they emit “zero emissions.” He said that the industry is developing low-enriched uranium that is “walkaway safe.”

He explained, “The fuel is ‘walk-away safe.’ It can’t melt down. You can’t have an accident. If the cooling system shuts off, you can walk away from it, and nothing happens. It fundamentally changes nuclear energy going forward.”

Brouillette chided the progressive Democrats’ Green New Deal, saying that it would “dictate to the American economy what types of jobs, what types of industries survive.”

“That’s just not something the government is very good at. It’s something that American people are very good at,” he said.

The energy deputy secretary said that Americans can solve the country’s pollution problems.

“The ingenuity that Americans bring to anything they do is just incredible,” he said.